The World Health Organization (WHO) issued new guidelines for key populations affected by HIV/AIDS prior to the 20th International AIDS Conference held last week in Melbourne, Australia. Among the biggest changes -- and th eone that has garnered the most attention and controversy -- is a recommendation that gay men who are at risk for HIV infection should consider pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) as an additional prevention option.

At the conference, policy-makers and researchers who contributed to the guidelines' development discussed the recommendations at a satellite session and a media briefing.

Chris Beyrer reviews WHO PrEP guidelines, July 21, 2014

Addressing the recommendation on PrEP for at-risk men who have sex with men, International AIDS Society president-elect Chris Beyrer said there is "strong evidence" for this recommendation, and "consensus on the science."

PrEP should be "considered an option for men who might want it as part of a comprehensive set of services that would include condoms and education and working on legal and policy environments that present barriers to access to services," he said.

Beyrer expressed concern about media reports that mistakenly implied that WHO recommended PrEP for all gay men. "The guidelines say very explicitly that this is an additional prevention option that should be considered, based on the scientific evidence, for men who want it," he emphasized.